RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
Our Faculty
Raymond
L. Hilsinger, Jr., MD
Chief, Department of Head & Neck Surgery
Raymond L. Hilsinger, Jr., MD, was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. He graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati Medical School in Cincinnati, OH.
Dr. Hilsinger took an internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital, in Philadelphia, PA, and general surgery training at the Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He completed his otolaryngology – head and neck surgery (OHNS) residency at the Eye and Ear Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Pittsburgh, PA.
After two years in the United States Air Force, as Chief of the Otolaryngology Department, Sheppard Regional Hospital, Wichita Falls, TX, Dr. Hilsinger joined the Department of Head & Neck Surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, CA.
In 1972, Dr. Hilsinger was appointed Program Director for the Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Residency Training Program at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland. He served in that position until 2001.
In 1985, he was appointed Chief of the Head and Neck Surgery Department at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, and continues to serve in that position. He was appointed Chief of the Head and Neck Surgery Department, at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Richmond, in 2000.
Dr. Hilsinger has published more than 40 articles in the medical literature, as well as three book chapters. He has presented on numerous occasions, and has given instruction courses at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) for many years. Dr. Hilsinger has served on a number of committees for the AAO-HNS.
A member of many medical specialty and subspecialty societies, Dr. Hilsinger is on the review board for five specialty journals, and has served as an examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology. He serves as Chairman of the Steering Committee of the East Bay Head and Neck Tumor Pretreatment Conference, is on the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Tumor Institute and is Past President of the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmology Society. In 2006 Dr. Hilsinger received the TPMG Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education for his role in shaping the Oakland Head and Neck Residency Program into one of the premier residencies in the country.
Raul.
M. Cruz, MD - Program Director
Dr. Raul M. Cruz is a native Texan who earned his medical degree from Southwestern Medical School. After General Surgery Internship at Parkland Hospital, he then completed his Head & Neck Surgery training at the University of Virginia Medical Center. He has been with The Permanente Medical Group as an otolaryngologist at the Oakland Medical Center since 1987. Since 2000 he has served as the Program Director for the Head & Neck Residency Training Program.
Dr. Cruz has published more than 20 scientific articles in the medical literature and has delivered more than 60 medical topic lectures. Clinically, he has an interest in revision sinus surgery, cochlear implantation, laryngology and international medicine. For more than a decade he has served as the Organizing Chairman of the Bay Area Residents’ Research Symposium. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Tumor Institute (increasing cancer awareness and treatment options for East Bay residents). He is on the Board of Directors and team leader for Hospital de la Familia (volunteer organization providing medical care in Western Guatemala). He also belongs to a team providing medical mission care to the Philippines. He is a surgeon and on the Advisory Board for Operation Access (a nonprofit organization offering free ambulatory surgical services to the working poor in the Bay Area). For the past several years he’s been involved in the leadership of the Pacific Coast Oto-Opthalmological Society. Recently, he has taken over responsibility as the Chief Organizer of the Northern California Kaiser H&N Surgery Society (planning educational dinner events for Kaiser otolaryngologists). For a number of years he has been active as a journal review editor for Laryngoscope and Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery. He is the founder and organizer of the East Bay Men’s Book Club.
He is married with 3 children. Outside interests include: kid raising activities, reading, wine making, cycling, aquarium hobbyist, maintaining a koi pond, landscaping, gym physical fitness and home remodeling projects.
Frederick
Byl, MD
Dr. Byl is a San Francisco Bay Area native. He attended UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. He continued his internship and residency at UC San Francisco.
Following residency, Dr. Byl served for two years as a staff otolaryngologist at the US Naval Hospital in Guam. After fulfilling his service obligation, he joined the Permanente Medical Group as an otolaryngologist in the Head and Neck Surgery Department at the Oakland Medical Center and is currently the Assistant Chief of the department.
Dr. Byl has published more than 15 papers concentrating on sudden hearing loss and Dohlman endoscopic diverticulectomy. He has regularly presented a course on Sudden Hearing Loss at the Annual Academy Meeting. He has a special interest in otology and is an active member of the cochlear implant team.
Dr. Byl and his wife Nancy have three children and three grandchildren. He is an active Scouter and has received the Silver Beaver and Vigil honors. Other activities include skiing, bicycling, and antique cars.
Barry
M. Rasgon, MD
Dr. Rasgon is a native Californian who received his medical degree from the University of Southern California. He completed his residency training in otolaryngology at Kaiser Permanente, Oakland in 1990. He has been on the medical staff at Kaiser Oakland for the last 13 years. He is a general otolaryngologist with an interest in head and neck oncology, including the application of sentinel lymph node biopsy for head and neck cancers. He is also one of the cochlear implant surgeons.
Dr. Rasgon has been the director of research for the otolaryngology residency program for the past 13 years. He has published 27 scientific articles in peer review journals and has presented many papers at local, regional, and national scientific meetings. He is a five time recipient of the Golden Adam's Apple Award for excellence in resident teaching and is a recipient founder of the Morris F. Collins research award given to a Kaiser physician who has made a significant contribution to the medical literature. Dr. Rasgon has volunteered his time in Guatemala for Hospital de la Familia.
Dr. Rasgon is married and has two children. His extra-curricular activities include taxi service for his children, skiing, rollerblading, and fishing.
Deepak
Gurushanthaiah, MD
Dr. Gurushanthaiah received his BA from the University of California, San Diego in General Biology. He went on to receive his MD from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His internship in General Surgery at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City was followed by his specialty training in Otolaryngology at the same institution. Further training took him to the University of Miami where he completed a one-year clinical fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular Reconstruction.
He is new to the Bay Area and has been with the Permanente Medical Group since August 2003. Clinical interests include microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck, head and neck tumors and cancers, thyroid and parathyroid surgery, anterior skull base surgery, and endoscopic aerodigestive track surgery. His outside interests include food and wine, mountain bicycling, snowboarding, and traveling.
Joshua
A. Gottschall, MD
Dr. Gottschall received his Bachelors of Science in Microbiology from the University of Florida, Gainesville in 1995. He went on to receive his medical degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center in 1999. His internship year in General Surgery, as well as four more years of specialty training in Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery was completed at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Gottschall elected to complete an additional year of fellowship training in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Children’s National Medical Center/George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. He is board certified in Otolaryngology, and is a specialty fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Gottschall is married, and joined the Permanente Medical Group in September 2005. He and his wife are new to the Bay Area. His extracurricular activities, outside of medicine, include spending time with his wife, Jean and pooch, Dexter. He also enjoys travel, Starbucks, sailing, eating out, playing guitar, and skiing. Dr. Gottschall is an Eagle Scout and enjoys the outdoors as well.
Charles W. Shih, MD
Dr Charles Shih is a native of Illinois and received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York. His internship year in General Surgery, as well as four more years of specialty training in Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery were completed at the University of Southern California – Los Angeles County Medical Center. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of California – Davis in Sacramento. He is Board Certified in both Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology.
Dr Shih joined the Permanente Medical Group in 2002. His clinical
interests include cleft lip and palate surgery, microtia reconstruction,
and facial cosmetic surgery. He regularly travels abroad for medical
mission trips performing surgeries on children with facial deformities.
Dr Shih is married and has two young children. He enjoys traveling,
tennis, kite-surfing, and the outdoors.
